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Houston Texans vs Jaguars: What’s at stake for the playoff picture

By Brian K. Patterson

Houston Texans QB Deshaun Watson (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
Houston Texans QB Deshaun Watson (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /
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The Houston Texans will face the Jacksonville Jaguars for the final matchup of the season. What’s at stake with the playoff picture? Take a look.

Houston Texans fans — here were are, the final game of the 2018 season and the team is sitting at a 10-5 record.  This season has been one of the most peculiar that I’ve witnessed on record and each week surprises me more and more.

This is actually a terrific finale after a 4-12 finish last season regardless of how the tables turn for today’s matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The Houston Texans have an opportunity to still control their playoff destiny with a win today over the Jags, finishing up the season at 11-5, which had far exceeded anybody’s expectations at the beginning of the season.

I had projected that the team finish with a 12-4 record and it’s good to know that I’ll likely be just one game off of that said prediction.

The Jags have a lot of injuries today with A.J. Bouye, Leonard Fournette and D.J. Hayden likely not going to be lined up with their other 10 counterparts today.

Jacksonville has benched Cody Kessler in favor of Blake Bortles for the probable reason of giving him an audition so they can try to trade him in the off season.  He still has value as quarterback in this league because of his size/potential but his days as a starter are likely over unless he’s needed to replace someone in the pinch.

Who knows where the Jags will go with Blake but that’s certainly not our problem and the team should just be focused on forcing him to throw the football and pressure him into making mistakes.  It’s the calling card if you want to see him crumble like a bad batch of chocolate chip cookies.

But enough about that — what’s at stake with the Houston Texans winning today’s game for the playoff picture?  They can go as high as the No. 1 seed but can fall as low as the No. 6 seed so let’s delve into it some.

Let’s take a look:

The Houston

Texans

pretty much have the No. 3 seed locked up in the playoffs if they beat

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the Jags today but if they lose, they can still hold onto the third seed if tonight’s Indianapolis Colts and Tennessee Titans’ game ends in a tie.

  • The Texans also have the opportunity to move up to the No. 2 seed if the New England Patriots fall to the New York Jets (or tie), which isn’t likely but the possibility is always there.  The team can also move up if: they beat the Jags, the Chiefs fall, the Chargers succumb and they get the strength of victory tiebreak (currently at a .424 percentage).
  • The Houston Texans can finish the Jags game with a tie and the Pats lose and end up with the 2nd seed.  And lastly, the Texans can lose this game, the Colts/Titans matchup ends in a tie with the Pats losing, the Baltimore Ravens winning with the team getting the SOV over the Ravens.

    • I’m dizzy with my head spinning from all of these scenarios!

    • The Houston Texans also have the opportunity to get the No. 1 seed by beating the Jags, with the Chiefs, Chargers and Pats losing their games.  If the Texans get the SOV over the Chiefs then they’ll leapfrog the team that has been in the AFC driver’s seat for all of this season with Patrick Mahomes leading the charge.
    • The team can fall as low as the No. 6 seed if they lose to the Jags today; but not only that, they’ll lose the division crown and face a Wild Card match up with either the Colts or Titans next week, depending on who wins that game.

    That’s the worst-case scenario for the Houston Texans so the moral to this story of scenarios is just win today’s game and let the rest play out.

    Next. Houston Sports: The three worst moments of 2018. dark

    I’ll be scoreboard watching just like you!  I can’t wait until today’s game start!  Are you ready?  Let’s go!

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